Page 138 - Through a glass brightly

One of mine is an English lesson in IIIF when Miss Iliff asked us all to write a poem. I wrote one about a tree. I think we all had to illustrate it too. I really enjoyed that and still have an image of the tree I drew in my head – can’t remember the words though! And one of Miss Eatock’s geography lessons when she mentioned the frequency of fish and chip shops as an indicator of town life. Never until then had I thought of fish and chips in connection with geography. That’s the secret of a good lesson, isn’t it? Surprise them with something unexpected. Not quite shock and awe, but near (ish). Also the sex education lesson from Miss Bryan when we were in the sixth form, learning about the surprising effect on boys of looking at bra adverts as they go up an escalator in the underground.
By the way, Jenny, my dad’s ‘Barnet Boyhood’ book doesn’t seem to be available on Amazon or Abe Books, but I’m sure once Barnet Museum is open they’ll have an available copy! http://www.barnetmuseum.co.uk/ They’re also looking out for oral history contributions – our memories of life in Barnet might be just the thing. How convenient!
From Mag P at 11.35
I am sitting in the garden in the shade and it is like a little bit of heaven. I have two memories of lessons at school that have stayed with me. One was Miss Gunnery reading the Easter Gospel with tears running down her cheeks during a Scripture lesson and the other memory of Miss Green sitting with her legs under her and picking her feet, I was shocked!
I think Miss Eatock was actually a Science teacher so perhaps you are thinking of Miss Essam who taught Geography. I also vividly remember Miss Balaam doing Mark reading and having the surname Youngs having to wait until last.
Does anyone remember the sheer joy of coming home at the end of term for the Summer holidays? I loved school but adored the holidays.
From Ruth at 12.02
Thank you Mag! Yes, It was Miss Essam’s geography lesson I was remembering. I remember Miss Gunnery saying prayers before confronting us at the start of her scripture lessons in the lower fifth, was it? I felt sorry for her and suspected it was to counteract the teenage scepticism she possibly felt she was encountering. Hope I’m not getting that wrong too, though. Who was our French teacher after Miss Girling?
From Jenny at 15.52
Answers to one or two queries - and also a query of my own.
No recollection of Caroline Thompson - not one of ours. Once Covid is gone and forgotten we could consult the school archives and there will be the Accession Registers for every year so we can easily see if she was in school and when. In fact, once this is all over, I wondered if those of us who are local might get permission to go into school sometime and meet with Viv Bell the Archivist and check some of the facts which we are glibly stating! Might even get some photos to copy. Of course, we can always check things next year at the Old Girls Lunch in May 2021 - surely we will be allowed out then?!!
Yes, Miss Esam taught us Geography and was our form teacher in Lower IVE. She was on the verge of retirement (left at the end of that year I think) and had probably been teaching the same things with the same examples for years. I had forgotten the fish and chip example of urban development but still vividly remember her asking why a lady only dusted under her sideboard in the winter - and being proud to be able to answer that it was because the sun was lower in the sky at that time of year so she could see it! I got a 'Well done' for that. In her class I also remember drawing a beautiful map of South America and getting an 'R' = Returned mark
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